Mass Effect: The Pinnacle of Evolution
by KtyouUniverse
Summary: At the turn of the century, a promising biologist comes to the Citadel to become part of an archaeological expedition hoping to discover history beyond the Protheans. However, his fate is altered when he is brought to a new level of evolution, one that is on par with that of the Reapers, an evolution that could change the galaxy for the better or destroy it.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Promising Biologist

Solar System

Planet Earth

2240 Hours

December 25 2199

It had been more than ten years since the war had been fought. It had been ten years since the galaxy had fought the Reapers. The Reapers were brutal, ruthless, and efficient. The Siege of Earth had proven that. The Reapers took lives without hesitation, without mercy, without regret. To them, organics were ignorant, arrogant, and unworthy of being able to sustain. They destroyed in order to bring "order" to the inferiors.

It mattered not what species they harvested, for all species, they claimed, were one in the same. All organics were accidents, originating from single-celled organisms which evolved over the course of millions, and perhaps, billions of years. Organics were not created with a purpose, and those who actively tried to seek out purpose were met with systemic failure. They was no purpose. There was no future. Organics were never meant to be, a single, painful truth.

This would be enough to break the resolutions of the normal species. They would be reduced to nothing more than shambles of their former selves, feeling failure for a doomed purpose that they knew nothing about prior. They would cower into submission and obedience, and would offer no resistance to fate, if such a thing existed. A broken individual was no better than a husk. It was already known to most that organic life originated from the most simple of life.

Yet, the galaxy had endured all of these tests of courage, strength, unity, and conviction. The Citadel Council, with some persuasion, had been forced to recognize that their ways were only going to cause more trouble should a race of the same magnitude as the Reapers choose to attack the galaxy again. The council had retooled their ways of thinking. The current council members, including the newest human council member, were all changed people.

A war that threatened the very existence of every species made them realize that only together can the galaxy stand unopposed and undefeated in the face of those who would do harm. As the council changed, so did the galaxy. All people in the galaxy, even more disagreeable species and individuals, for a single moment, ceased their hostilities towards one another. For a moment, every being in the galaxy chose to honor a hero who helped them realize these truths.

Commander Shepard, the individual who was not only revered by humanity, but by all of the galaxy, was given a proper funeral on the Citadel. Hundreds of thousand visited to pay their respects and condolences to Shepard's friends and family. Those who knew Shepard personally gave thanks for the opportunities given to them. The masses gave their thanks to the war hero for giving them another chance to continue with life, to find purpose and meaning themselves. Even at the turn of the century, Shepard's name lived, and it was doubtful that the name would be forgotten by any species, human, turian, asari, drell, krogan, salarian, or quarian

In the years to follow, all species united to help each other rebuild. The war had taken its toll on many planets. Many lives were lost, but lost so that many others would not follow. The future was looking up for the galaxy. With a genocidal race gone, the galaxy could focus on something besides war.

It was now a time of growth and change, particularly in culture and ideals. Races were beginning to open up to one another. Ideals, morals, and thinkings were shared, and the understanding of each other helped to strengthen the trust between each species. Still, there would be no stop to hostilities. There were still many who voiced the opinions of the past. These new changes would not stop crime completely, would not stop the still-lingering tensions between certain races, or stop death completely, but a united galaxy is better than a fragmented one. The future looked optimistic at least.

0000000000000000000000000

Justin Kelly took a breath of the recycled air as he surveyed the planet Earth. He didn't know if would ever see it again. He was off to the Citadel, off to a new life, a new world. He had never left the familiarity or comfort of Earth, but he knew that there was something greater out there, and despite the many things he treasure on Earth, including his family, his home, and his friends, he wanted to make a greater difference, to help every species in Citadel space, and the Citadel was the perfect place to start.

Justin reflected on the past few years of his rather hectic life. He had recently graduated from college, majoring in xenobiology and biology. As a child, he had expressed interest in life and technology, always wanting to know about how they worked and how each was dependent on each other, or at least the machines and technology were. Even more interesting was the other species that lived within their galaxy. His parents were not too keen on discussing "aliens" in general. At first, the work alien was a way to describe those that were not human, and for a child, that meant nothing to the little boy.

However, as Justin matured, he began to realize an alien was a pretty word, a facade which was meant for undesirables that humans set. Externally, he displayed neutrality when the word alien was said in conjunction to other Citadel species, but internally, he despised the word. He begun to develop a major difference in opinion when it came to this subject, far different than his family and friends. Justin did not see aliens or undesirables, but rather individuals who were just different than humans, physically, culturally, politically, and in almost every way imaginable, and yet, through all those differences, and throughout all his studies and teachings, every species shared one similarity: the will to grow, the will to become, the will to desire, the will to evolve. Discriminations did nothing to change his mind. Quarians were not thieves and scavengers, krogans were not bloodthirsty monsters, turians were not the enemy, drell were not just walking frogs, and salarians were not just bug-eyed. If anything, humans comparing themselves to the other species was not even difficult. At one point or another, each species had done acts that were perceived to be evil, wrong, and unjust. There was nothing to compare. They were all essentially the same, and only the physical anatomy separated each other.

Justin had studied organic biology as his major in college. Although his parents had tried to convince him to do something that was more practical and that would guarantee him a comfortable living, he still didn't change his mind. He wanted to be challenged, to be doing something he liked. In addition to organic biology, he also majored in culture, studying all races of the Citadel space. Doing a double major had been a tough time for him. His workload was nothing short of immense, but it was very interesting just the same.

The shuttle taking them to the citadel was about to hit the mass relay. Turning his attention to the seventeen-kilometer long device that they were slowly approaching, he could see the element zero core begin to swirl faster as it was gathering the necessary energy to propel the ship.

_"Attention to all crew. We are not about to hit the relay. We ask that all passengers please remain seated and keep the aisles clear."_

The comm shut off. Justin continued to look out of the window. Soon, the device was consuming the window's range of vision. His gaze into space continued, even as the shuttle hit the relay and was instantaneously propelled. Not a single bump was felt as the transition happened. The transition from normal space to a mass effect jump was instantaneous.

The stars and the galaxy seemed to be moving so fast, faster than the naked eye could perceive. It was nothing short of wondrous. So many worlds passing by, many of them known and established planets, many of them home to the Citadel races, and yet, only a fraction of the galaxy had been explored. There were still a great deal of planets and worlds out there, just waiting to be explored.

Justin suddenly felt his eyes began to droop. He had not slept at all in the past twenty-four hours, but he couldn't afford to fall asleep now. Too much was going through his head to be sleeping, like settling into his apartment, for one.

Justin had an apartment that he had purchased on the Citadel recently. Because he knew that he needed lots of space for work, Justin had bought an apartment that was fairly roomy. He also opted for an apartment that was on a higher level so that noise could be minimalistic. As much as Justin loved the city, he did prefer quiet during times of intense studies and work. He also liked the scenery from the pictures and videos when he found it. The appartment was also conveniently located next to a large trade center, selling all the goods anyone would ever need.

His location was also close to his new workplace. He had recently taken a job as part of an archaeology team looking to expand the knowledge of the galaxy. The Reapers threat had shown that many civilizations had existed long before the Protheans. Still, the Galaxy revered the Protheans as the most well-known, but imagine what new information was out there. The team would start their work from the Citadel and expand to whatever system their work saw fit. As far as Justin knew, each individual in the team had a specific skill set that was unique to them, and he was bringing biological science to the table, and he could also use his psychology skills to decipher any new species discovered. He had yet to meet the others, but supposedly, each individual was a different species.

Justin turned to look at his datapad that he held in his lap. He began to skim through the extranet, trying to find something worth reading or watching. The extranet was vast, and often times, it wasn't worth going through all of the useless sites that spanned it. If you weren't specific as to what you wanted to find, you could spend years alone just going through all of the material, and it wasn't getting any smaller. For now, he kept his attention on news from Earth as well as the Citadel.

In recent years, the Citadel Council had begun the formation of new mixed-race military squads. These squads were trained far better than the standard military and were separate from each races' military. They weren't at the level of a Spectre, but they were not to be underestimated. As with anything having to do with integration of other species, resistance was met. particularly groups that supported only their own species. Cerberus was not among them, as the terrorist organization had been destroyed when Commander Shepard confirmed the death of the Illusive Man, Cerberus simply collapsed, but there were still other pro-human groups that opposed these new mixed squad, which, in retrospect, wasn't a surprise at all.

The galaxy was still a dangerous place in spite of the new changes implemented, so Justin had to bring the proper means to defend himself. Although he did not have it with him now, he owned a custom-built black Elkoss Edge Pistol. It was affordable and would do some decent damage. It had not been easy to acquire the proper licenses required to possess, arm, and fire weapons, especially a civilian using a weapon, but in this galaxy, there was enough dangers going around in order for the governments and authorities to understand. Everyone needed some form of protection in one form or another. It was just common sense.

A few hours. That was how long this trip would take. There was still some time on hand, and for some reason, Justin was jittery, and excited, a little bit too much. This life would be great…

**Thought up of this crazy idea for a story that might just actually work. I'm in the process of working out the story, but feel free to review, favorite, or follow, or just read. Feedback is appreciated and welcome, even the critical ones. Always room for improvement.**


	2. Chapter 2: Commander Shepard's History

Chapter 2: Another Family

Serpent Nebula. Widow

Citadel

2300 Hours

December 25 2199

Did he think hours? That was the time an FLT drive took go from planet to planet, and more than likely, it took days and weeks, and possibly even months. A mass relay was suppose to take days at most, no more. It would only take mere moments at best and minutes at worst for this particular trip. There simply was no means to travel faster than light. FLT drives were very rare because they simply took too long to travel. It had been only a minute, but to Justin, it felt like hours.

A slight movement in the ship told him that they were entering normal space at typical speed. It was the voice of the captain.

_"Welcome to the Citadel, the capital of the Citadel Council. The total population stands at more than fourteen million people. Currently, the Citadel is undergoing some final repairs and upgrades. As of last week, residency is now flourishing with the newest additions to technological marvels. We will be landing in approximately six minutes. We thank you for flying with us and we hope to see you all again."_

At first, there was nothing to see as the windows were obscured, but through the "holes" in the mess, Justin could make out something. His sight didn't leave the window as the Citadel came clearly into view. It was certainly a sight to take in, even if it was under heavy construction and repair. Justin had seen pictures of the Citadel before the Reaper Wars, and from the way it was looking now, some pretty heavy upgrades were being made. It had certainly been a huge expense to make repairs. Although he didn't know the exact numbers, Justin had heard that all the Citadel races had pooled more than twenty billion to repair and upgrade.

As they approached the massive space station, more ships came into view. Some of them were war ships guarding the areas of construction, while most were repair ships and frigates dropping in supplies, materials, and large pieces needed. It was apparent that there was much going on.

_"All crew and personnel. Please be seated and strapped in. We are beginning our descent. We ask that all passengers now remain seated until the ship has landed and the boarding ramp has been extended and the ship has come to a complete stop."_

The words on the intercom went through both ears. He had heard the same procedures on Earth so many times. No matter the species, some things hadn't changed. The only difference between this and Earth was that he required the use of a translator to understand the language.

It irked Justin that he didn't really understand alien languages, not by himself at least. Translators were certainly a great asset, Without it, it would make communication with the other species a serious crisis. And yet, it seemed like a cheap way of understanding and communicating. Sure, it was comforting to hear english, but Justin knew that each species spoke in their own respected languages. What sounded like english to him through his translator was really other languages being spoken. Justin himself had little patience for learning languages. He had barely been able to keep up with French. Now, as he thought about it, learning languages should have been a bit more on his mind. Any culture's language was integral, and seeing as Justin had spent considerable time studying culture with little consideration for language was only now beginning to catch up to him.

Realizing that now was not a good time to be thinking about this, he refocused his attention on the task at hand. He was to meet his employer and boss at the Presidium, near the embassies of the various species. He was to meet with an asari, Liolix J'Sahra, the project commander working in the field with them. Justin did not really have any information about her, nor did he know her personally, but from the conversations that he held with her, she seemed to be a very logical person, very calculated, but also welcoming and very open-minded, at least that was what he picked up from their conversations over video. Most Asari tended to be very sage-like, even at a "young" age. Being able to live for a thousand years certainly did have its perks and benefits. It came as no surprise that the Asari were highly advanced, given their wisdom, patience, and conviction.

However, like any organic, they were not perfect. After the Reaper War, the Asari had to reluctantly answer for their hiding of a Prothean VI and beacon. The Citadel races were certainly unhappy and angry at the Asari for keeping this under wraps. Ever since then, the Asari had to compensate by sharing some of their advances. To some, it was not enough because the Asari had millennium to advance while it had not even been twenty galactic standard years since they had been forced to reveal their secrets. Now, in a way, the Asari were not trusted as much as they use to be. Like the Quarians after the war with the Geth, the Asari were held in a distrustful light after keeping secrets from the other races.

Now that he thought of it, Justin reflected more on the shift of influence and power in the Citadel Council. Humans were now regarded in a better light. No longer was Humanity nearly as aggressive as it use to be, because now, it held an important position as it was one of the four seats of power in the galaxy. It was not surprising that Humans were held in a better light, given that the savior of the galaxy was a Human, but Shepard was but one of the many ways Humanity was able to show the galaxy just how much they were willing to fight to the death. Ever since the death of Shepard, three more Human Spectres had been added, the most experienced one being Commander Ashley Williams, and the newest being Lieutenant Tyler McKinley. If one thing was certain, all Spectres were trying to reach the caliber of combat prowess that Shepard had, but there was not one yet that had achieved that level of skill, but they were all certainly trying.

Another change was that Quarians were slowly recovering from the damage done by the Geth, and now that the machine race was destroyed along with the Reapers, the Quarians could now resettle on their homeworld, Rannoch. It would take many decades to rebuild to their once prime state, but the Quarians were now more than capable of standing on their own. Even with these changes, old traditions still continued, as young Quarians could still be seen travelling the galaxy in search of a worth pilgrimage item to become part of a ship. From what Justin had researched, most gifts were still meant to help the Quarian people as a whole, but now that new ship technology was becoming more abundant in the Flotilla, a wider variety of gifts were becoming more acceptable. Perhaps one day, the Quarians would become strong enough to have a possible chance at a Council seat and have add a Spectre.

Justin then noticed that they were finishing docking. Most of the passengers seemed real jittery and ready to leave, and Justin was one of them. He was more than excited to explore the Citadel since it would be one of the few times he could see it without its population roaming around it. With that in mind, he was quick to remove his backpack from the storage unit above and waited impatiently for the lanes to clear so he could walk out without incident. As he walked out, his breath began to increase, his mind trying in vain to calm down from his enthusiasm, but to no avail. As soon as he left the craft, he could tell, for there was a shift in the feel of the atmosphere, something easily detectable. The air was cool, and filled with the smells of a workshop or a place of tools, not surprising, given the amount of dock workers and construction workers around. There were Humans, Asari, Turians, and Salarians hard at work, who barely paid any mind to the exiting passengers. He passed by the passenger baggage collection. He only carried a backpack, with his equipment that he would be using for his new job, both in his apartment and in the field as well.

Justin paused to activate his Omni-tool. It was a standard-issue one, at least it was when he got it over ten years ago. The Omni-tool had been a birthday for his sixteenth birthday from his parents. It was not a particularly expensive tool, but Justin had used this tool so much that it may as well be a part of him. Over the years, he had added many modifications and customizations to suit his own personal needs. He had even changed the color of the tool. He did not care if it stood out. Orange was a color that he simply did not like at all, so the color was changed to a bright green color.

His most recent addition was installing a personal VI into his Omni-tool. Ever since he had gotten out of high school, every credit he earned had been going towards a VI. He had been frugal for all of his college life with his earnings from his jobs, even going so far as to completely neglect some of his needs, which in retrospect, was not the greatest thing to do at the time, but that time was long gone. This VI was the top-of-the-line, as advanced as he could possibly get. he had pulled some favors to get a slashed price and he had only recently begun to program the VI to do what he needed it to do. He had called the VI Meteora, it made absolutely no sense, just an impulse, but there was no changing it now.

As his Omni-tool came to life, the miniature avatar of the VI came up as well. The avatar took inspiration from twenty-first century warrior, more specifically, assassins. The avatar was that of a female human with two blades sheathed across the back and two pistols strapped to the thighs. The suit it was wearing was skintight and very form fitting, and Justin would admit that at times, it could be very distracting. Add this to the fact that the avatar possessed a body that would make any model envious and you had a very distracting VI indeed, but then again, "women" that he could literally see through didn't do a lot of good to begin with. It was better this way.

"Good afternoon, Mr Kelly," Meteor said. "What can I do for you."

Justin retrieved an information drive from his pocket and connected it to his Omni-tool.

"I need you to analyse this map of the Citadel," he said as he typed a few keys. "triangulate these coordinates."

The avatar nodded. It put its hands together, making it look like the VI was praying. After a few moments of analysis, Meteor began to display a detailed map of the Citadel, all of its locations, hot spots, tourist sites, residencies, markets, clubs and leisure spots, weapons and armor markets, food courts and shops, and general tools and equipment. The coordinates for his apartment and his rendezvous with his new employer were also visible and clearly marked.

"I have also marked the most convenient path to your destinations. These paths will allow you to get to you appartment and employer's office with minimal time."

Oh how VI's were so useful.

As Justin took to the walkways, taking a moment to try and memorize some places so he would not always have to use his Omni-tool to tell him where to go. Memorize was probably not the right word. He needed to find some places that was at least unique so when he walked by, he would not forget. Remembering the Citadel? Remind him in a month or so, but most definitely not now.

Then Justin faltered. He had been so caught up in his thoughts and the virtual map on his Omni-tool that he seemed completely oblivious to his surroundings. He found himself surrounded by a small river, pond, or body of water. The "sky" was a bright blue, just like on Earth. Not a cloud could be seen. Races of all kinds mingled with each other, just being normal and going on about their business. It was rather amazing that the Council had been able to get the Citadel up and running in less than fifteen years, given all the extensive damage sustained during the Reaper War.

"Mr. Kelly," Meteor informed him, "you are now approaching a VI called Avena. It may be important if you could listen to it."

Without responding to his VI, Justin noticed a VI with a human appearance, standing a bit shorter than himself.

"Welcome to the Reaper Memorial. I am Avina, your virtual guide through the Citadel Space Station."

Justin looked up to see the rather large statue of Commander Shepard in a combat stance, rifle in hand, wearing N7 armor and a determined face. The statue had been constructed with much precision and detail, making the statue appear very life-like. The stood over fourteen feet tall, a very impressive monument that stood along with some other statues of other war heros and veterans.

Deciding to be daring, he took a stab.

"What can you tell me about Commander Shepard," he asked.

"Commander Shepard was a human military officer of the Human System Alliance during the time designated as the Reaper War. The commander led a team of other species and races against the Reapers and allies of the Reapers, including the race called Collectors, who were once Protheans. The commander became a beacon of hope, unity, and strength. The commander also fought against the former terrorist organization known as Cerberus.

"The commander was born in space as was raised by parents who were both System Alliance officers. One of the Shepard's earliest campaigns involved single-handedly holding off an attack while defending a squad. Shepard was hailed as a war hero, and was soon chosen to become the first Human Spectre. The commander, with the ship the _SSV Normandy_, went to embark on a quest to apprehend the rogue Spectre Saren Arterius, who was under control of the Reaper, Sovereign. Eventually, Sovereign was destroyed and Saren killed.

"After the Citadel battle, Shepard was killed and the _SSV Normandy_ destroyed by the Collectors a servant race for the Reapers. Shepard's remains were recovered by Dr' Liara T'Soni and given to Cerberus. Cerberus rebuilt Shepard with the latest of cybernetics and technology. The total cost for rebuilding Shepard totaled more than four billion credits, enough to build an army."

Four billion credits? Justin figured that Shepard's remains must be valuable, but he had no idea that much was invested into the commander.

"Shepard was brought back to life and Cerberus supplied Shepard with the _Normandy SR2, _an improvement of the original_ Normandy SR1_. Shepard was tasked to stop the abduction of human colonists. Shepard also recruited some of the most deadly warriors in the galaxy to fight what was, at the time, considered to be a suicide mission. In the final battle against the Collectors, their base was destroyed, along with a Human Reaper larvae, effectively stalling the Reaper invasion.

"Despite Shepard's heroism, the commander was arrest, court-martialed, and honorably discharged by the System Alliance. Shepard would not be confined for long as the Reapers invaded and conquered Earth. Reinstated into the System Alliance, Shepard would travel the galaxy to rally all the Citadel races to fight the Reapers. However, the Reapers were numerous and technologically beyond any Citadel technology. Eventually, the discovery of the Prothean weapon designated the Crucible. This weapon was meant to destroy all forms of synthetic life. The body of Shepard was never found, but the commander's actions destroyed both the Reapers and the Geth."

Justin was sure that the details were many and very interesting. Avina had just told a several-year long story in a matter of five minutes. Justin could not even begin to wonder what the commander had gone through, and honestly, he was not sure he wanted to know. He was no warrior by any means. He could defend himself when necessary, but never fight a war.

"That will be all," Justin said,

"Thank you for using Avina."

Meteor came up on his Omni-tool and Justin turned to look at it.

"I have recorded and archived Avina's information for your convenience."

"Thank you meteor."

Having his fill of the Reaper war, Justin began to resume his walk to his employer's office. Saving the galaxy, while interesting, was not something he could obsess himself over. After all, the Reapers were in the past.

_To be continued…_

**Review to have your opinion heard. Also, if any of my canon facts are awry, then tell me what I did wrong. I won't take any offense. I am still learning about the Mass Effect Universe. If you haven't reviewed and favorited, then do so. All this support keeps this story going.**


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